Tag Archives: Awesome August ’19 Community Painting Challenge

Reaper Bones 77116: Colossal Skeleton (Jason Wiebe) (Awesome August ’19)

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Reaper Bones 77116, Colossal Skeleton, Jason Wiebe, Undead Giant, Bone Giant

Today I have the first of (and maybe only? we’ll see how the month pans out) my submissions for this month’s Model painting challenge – the Colossal Skeleton from Reaper Miniatures’ Bones line. I think it was from their first Bones Kickstarter, but frankly I can’t be arsed to check, as at this point it hardly matters. This model was a nightmare for me (no pun intended) due to the rather horrid properties of the Bones Material, going sticky over time along with ill-defined details. The model is actually heavily based on a metal counterpart, though given the need to glue and join something like that together, I can only imagine it also being a nightmare as well, albeit of a mostly different sort.

Reaper Bones 77116, Colossal Skeleton, Jason Wiebe, Undead Giant, Bone Giant

I started this large, skinny fellow a couple of years ago – which you can easily spot by the use of the Square base – based as he is for Kings of War and Marouda’s Undead Army. So why did he take so long to get done? He’s mostly bone, isn’t he? After all, that’s easy enough to do..

Reaper Bones 77116, Colossal Skeleton, Jason Wiebe, Undead Giant, Bone Giant

Well, the issues I had with the model were a combination of the bone layers becoming rather tacky early on in the project, as well as all of the fidldy little details scattered across the model. The problem with those details is that most of them are pretty well ill-defined and simply …mushy. I found that particular combination rather off-putting, and despite any number of challenges over the last almost-a-year by now, from Dreadtober, Neglected Models, Jewel of July, Monster March… and on and on, I never could get more than a little of him done. In the first few days of this month however, after going to bed, I had a feeling come over me that I would finish the model that weekend. And so, somehow, I did just that.

Reaper Bones 77116, Colossal Skeleton, Jason Wiebe, Undead Giant, Bone Giant

In my little epiphany, I knew that I needed to break down the model into managable chunks. Good thing he was an unassembled multipart model, then – so legs and base, torso with head attached, and two arms. And then I worked on the fucker for most of the two days in my spare time. And it somehow worked – at the end of the weekend, he was done. And varnished both with Reaper’s own brush-on and AK Interactive’s matte. Somehow it’s also not sticky or even tacky. Yet.

Reaper Bones 77116, Colossal Skeleton, Jason Wiebe, Undead Giant, Bone Giant

A scale shot, along with some of his little (aka regular, human-sized) mates.

So now, after at least a couple of years, this big bastard is done, and I’m actually quite happy with it. My problem with him now becomes where to store it, especially since the Undead Army is already overflowing their shelf. Ah well, there are worse problems to have in life.

Now, the next question will be if I can get another awesome model done for August, or if it will remain with just the one completed for the challenge. Either way, it’s mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned.

Awesome August ’19: Community Painting Challenge

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One of these four models does not qualify! Stay tuned to see which one!

Something a bit the same as Jewel of July, but also slightly different for August. My original paining challenge plans for 2019 have been shifted around a little over a few of the last few months, and I originally had August pencilled in as a Neglected Models month, but we just had that with June. As it happens, IRO, aka Imperialrebelork requested/suggested “Augmented August”, where people would “Build something bigger and better than its original design or paint something cooler than its original design.” Now, believe it or not, my time, energy and ability to do either of those things is actually quite limited at the moment, and obviously I want a challenge that’s achievable for me in order to motivate me to Get More Shit Done. But.. IRO’s idea is a good one.

I was quite proud of this one when I finished it!

So I’ve decided on Awesome August – where the objective is to convert or paint (or both) something really bloody cool. Ideally, this would be a larger-than-normal model – hence the “Awesome” – because size matters this month. If you’re a fan of tanks, as a few of the regulars here are, it’s time for a Tiger or Jagdtiger or KV-2 at minimum, but really, a Maus or Konigstiger or T28 or one of the big IS-series tanks. For 40k players, skip the Rhino variants and get the Russ or Land Raider done – or better yet, that Baneblade (or Knight/(bio)titan/etc).

I don’t have a historical tank large enough to act as an illustration for this month’s challenge completed. So this 40k Dreadnought will have to do!

Monsters, Mammoths and Mûmakil. Dreadnoughts and Giants. You get the idea by now. Get your big shit painted. Nobody smaller than an Ogre need apply!

unless…

I feel like someone might need a very slight touch-up for 2019.

If you really prefer to skip the biggies – that normal sized model that you’ve (ideally) done a job that you’re proud of converting or kitbashing, painted to the best of your ability. Remember, it’s not a competition – it’s a showcase – so your only competitor is yourself.

Big doesn’t only come in 40k or Warhammer flavours!

So, the TL:DR is that August’s challenge is to complete something big. Ideally, really big. Or something small that’s ideally converted – and painted really well by your own standards.

‘cos it’s not a bloody competition, mate – is it?

– please DO REMEMBER TO LINK to this post when you finish something that you want counted in the round-up – because I WILL forget your post otherwise. It happens every single month. Also, if you’re doing the Jewel of July ’19 Community Painting Challenge, be sure and link your finished units over there. There’s still a week left to paint! (and a week or so grace period to varnish, photograph, post and link your models.)